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A general worker at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka has testified in the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court about hearing a seven-year-old girl repeatedly scream “Daddy! Daddy!” while being bathed by her father, who is now facing incest charges.
The accused, a 47-year-old man, is alleged to have defiled his daughter while acting as her bedsider during her cancer treatment admission.
Josephine Nakawele, 26, who cleans hospital wards and bathrooms, told the court that on the night of March 9, 2025, she heard the child’s screams from one of the hospital bathrooms. She also noted clothes of a man and a child hanging outside the bathroom door and heard music playing inside. Disturbed by the sounds, Nakawele alerted another bedsider, Bamake Davy, who confirmed hearing the child’s screams.
Nakawele said she knocked on the bathroom door and informed the man she needed to clean, to which he responded he would come out soon. He later exited with the child.
The following day, another bedsider, Bamake Lisa, expressed concerns about the father’s late-night bathing routine and reported that the man had once slapped a bedsider who questioned his behaviour. Lisa reported these concerns to nurse Lauren Changa.
Nurse Changa testified that on March 10, 2025, she responded to the report and found the bathroom door locked with music playing. After knocking and calling out to the child, the accused later emerged without the girl and admitted to slapping a bedsider. Changa warned him against using the female bathroom for such activities and reported the matter to her superiors.
Later that night, Changa received a report that the accused had switched off the lights near his daughter’s bed. A doctor examined the child and prescribed antibiotics and pain relief, after which the accused was handed over to the police.
During cross-examination, the accused challenged the witnesses over the absence of direct evidence of abuse inside the bathroom. Nakawele admitted she did not witness any abuse or record the incident, while Changa stated she could not comment on what happened behind the locked door.
The case is set to continue on July 14, 2025.
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